In the field of material analysis, for example, in the field of semiconductor technology, cross sections of a sample are generated and examined in detail.
For this purpose, a method is known from the prior art in which a sample is initially prepared and subsequently examined in a particle beam device. The sample is prepared in a first particle beam device, which has both an electron beam column and an ion beam column. With the aid of an electron beam, which is provided by the electron beam column, a part of the sample to be analyzed is initially identified. This part of the sample to be analyzed is then prepared with the aid of an ion beam which is provided by the ion beam column and cut out of the sample. The part of the sample that has been cut out and is to be analyzed is subsequently taken out of the first particle beam device and then taken into a second particle beam device in the form of a transmission electron microscope. Further examinations are then performed on the part of the sample to be analyzed with the aid of the second particle beam device.
It is, however, disadvantageous in this known method that the part of the sample to be analyzed must be taken out of the first particle beam device and taken into the second particle beam device. It may well happen then that the part of the sample to be analyzed is contaminated in such a way that further examination with the aid of the second particle beam device (transmission electron microscope) can no longer be performed. In addition, the method is very time-consuming due to the taking-out operation. Furthermore, taking out always carries the risk that the part of the sample to be analyzed becomes damaged, so that it may not be further examined.
It is conceivable to examine the part of the sample to be analyzed also in the first particle beam device, so that the part of the sample to be analyzed does not have to be taken out of the first particle beam device. However, only an examination that does not provide sufficient spatial resolution is then possible. For reasons of geometry, the part of the sample to be analyzed may be examined in the first particle beam device only from an oblique angle. Therefore, a particle beam is basically directed to the part of the sample to be analyzed at an oblique angle. This impairs the spatial resolution. In addition, an image of the part of the sample to be analyzed may be distorted.
Another method for analyzing a sample is known from the prior art, which is carried out in a vacuum chamber of a single particle beam device and in which taking out a sample and putting it in again are not necessary. In this known method, a part of a sample to be analyzed is cut out from the sample with the aid of an ion beam. After being cut out, the part to be analyzed is fastened in a holder and lifted out of the sample. The lifted out part of the sample to be analyzed is fastened to an object holder to then be examined with the aid of an electron beam. Electrons transmitted through the part of the sample to be analyzed are detected during the examination. The detected transmitted electrons are used for drawing conclusions about the material of the part of the sample to be analyzed.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,963,068 B2, which is incorporated herein by reference, regarding the above prior art.
The above-described known methods share the common feature that the sample is analyzed in transmission. Therefore, generating the sample or the part of the sample to be analyzed is very complicated because the sample must be generated in the form of a thin sample slice having a thickness of only a few nm, which, however, must still contain the relevant part of the sample.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a device and method which makes it possible to generate the part of the sample to be analyzed and to analyze it in a simpler manner.